Several known methods exist for the production of synthetic wear- and weather-resistant rubber-based compositions. EP19990937488 (Pub. No. EP1161487 B1) discloses a method for production of ebonite (i.e. hard rubber) through vulcanization of rubber with sulfer, a vulcanization accelerator, and active filler, where each additive ingredient is a powder with a particle size between 5 and 85 microns.
PCT/US1998/023114 (Pub. No. WO1999023148 A1) introduces production of a wear-resistant article through incorporation of a fluorocarbon with a polymer to produce a wear-resistant rubber compound. Compared to prior methods employing only surface treatment, actual incorporation of the material increases the longevity or permanence of the beneficial wear-resistant effect.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,766 discloses a composite gasket material having improved sealability and thermal stability, wherein the material contains an elastomeric binder component, a fiber component (such as carbon fibers), and a filler component.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,135,122 discloses a method of coating rubber with polytetrafluoroethylene for better resistance, where the bonded surface of the polytetrafluoroethylene portion of the composite is etched prior to application of the uncured admixture. The compounds are useful for making items such as seals, gaskets, chemically-resistant hoses, o-rings, and pump diaphragms.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,700 discloses a rubber material having both high frictional force as well as high abrasion resistance through use of highly hard material, such as bentonites. Such highly hard particles, formed with a rubber-philic coating layer by a fluidized coating treatment, are dispersed in the rubber material. Such material allows for beneficial properties such as adhesion and weather resistance.
The most promising materials for use in Far North conditions are rubbers based on propylene oxide rubber (SKPO), characterized by frost, ozone, and heat resistance. Their disadvantage is high residual compressive strain values (Govorova, O. A. et al., “Development of weatherproof rubber with improved low temperature and adhesive properties,” Caoutchouc and Rubber, M.: 1999, No. 2, pp. 18-20; Govorova, O. A. et al., “Use of epichlorohydrin and propylene-oxide rubbers to improve usable temperature range of rubber based on butadiene-nitrile rubber,” Caoutchouc and Rubber, M.: 2000, No. 4, pp. 18-20).
Most closely related to the technical nature of and results achieved by the claimed composition is the frost resistant rubber compound based on GPO, containing sulfur, thiuram disulfide, stearic acid, zinc oxide, 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, industrial carbon P-803, natural zeolites and dibutyl phthalate, subjected concurrently to mechanical activation in a planetary ball mill AGO-2s with a 70:30 ratio (Petrova, N. N., Portnyagina, V. V., Fedorova, A. F., Biklybaeva, R. F., Frost resistant compound based on propylene oxide rubber, Patent RF No. 2294341, M.: 2007). Natural zeolites are skeletal aluminosilicates with high adsorption capacity (Novgorodov, P. G., “Actual problems with development of zeolite material deposits from Hongyry,” Scientific reading material, dedicated to the memory of Yakutia zeolite deposit discoverer K. E. Kolodeznikov, Yakutsk: Pub. YSC SB RAS, 2005, p. 124).
The disadvantages of existing rubbers include: (1) high residual compressive strain value, (2) complex production technology associated with preparation of the paste based on zeolites and plasticizer, and (3) lack of frost resistance all the way to −50° C., which is desirable to ensure reliable operation of parts made from the aforementioned rubbers.
There is also a known positive impact of natural bentonites on the structure and performance properties of certain rubbers (Tutorsky, I. A., Altsitzer, B. V., Pokidko, B. V., “Heat resistant nanocomposites with layered silicates based on butadiene-nitrile rubber,” Caoutchouc and Rubber, M.: 2007, N2, p. 16; Tutorsky, I. A., Kuzin, V. S., Pokidko, B. V., “Polymer composites with layered silicates based on isoprene rubber,” Caoutchouc and Rubber, M.: 2009, No. 4, p. 18). The referenced research shows that composites undergo improvement of physico-mechanical and dynamic properties, as well as reduction in gas permeability. Heat resistance is also increased due to the formation of exfoliated structures when layered silicates disperse and completely exfoliate in the polymer matrix into individual lamellar particles with nanometer thickness. The impact of layered aluminosilicates, as opposed to skeletal aluminosilicates, on the frost resistance of rubber has not yet been investigated.